Sunday, October 23, 2005

A belated thanks

A belated thanks –
In December 2003 I traveled from California to Peshawar, Pakistan. I carried onto the plane my usual travel rig of a carry-on roller and my Lands' End double-sided computer attaché. The PowerPoint presentation I had ready for the conference in Peshawar was in my computer. This rig has served me through many states and countries. It was a good thing I had only carry-on luggage since I missed flights in Dubai and Karachi. When the plane landed in Islamabad it was dark, and they rolled up front and rear staircases for debarking. I went down the back stairs in nearly complete darkness, holding my carry-on in one hand and the Lands' End attaché in the other. In the dark I missed the last step and both pieces of luggage went flying. My pants tore, my knee was a bloody mess, the scar lasting to this day, and people gathered up my luggage. This was awkward since a red-carpet welcome was planned by my hosts. I was a bit too red. After treatment by paramedics I arrived at my hotel and booted up the computer. It was fine. The knee was still a mess a week later as we traveled up the Khyber Pass into Afghanistan and took several weeks to heal. I continue to use the same computer and the same travel rig two years later. We leave again in two days. Thank you, Lands' End!